Teaching Modules

×

Provenance: Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSSReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

The lesson modules below are designed for use in an undergraduate classroom and include teaching materials including details and handouts for in-class activities and homework. The menu to the left can be used to navigate between each module.

The compiled instructor and student versions of the 23 modules can be downloaded here:

This learning module and related laboratory exercise exposes students to Solar Nebular Theory, planetary body classification, and planet differentiation. Students will be able to compare and contrast the formation history of Mars and Earth as well as confidently assess the present classification of the planet Pluto.

This learning module and related laboratory exercise exposes students to the make-up of minerals on both Earth and Mars, as well as encourages students to determine what minerals imply an aqueous environment of formation.

Students will become familiar with the theory of plate tectonics on Earth and evaluate the possibility of plate tectonics on Mars using the evidence (continental puzzle, faunal correlation, magnetic reversals etc.) utilized on Earth to support plate tectonic theory.

This learning module and related laboratory exercise exposes students to surface water erosion due to rivers and deltas and their evidence on the Martian landscape. Students will use modern analogs to assess the hypothesis that both rivers and deltas existed on Mars.

It is hypothesized that an ocean on Mars might have existed. Students will learn what sedimentary structures of Earth, marine environments in the ancient look like and the processes that formed them. From this earth-analog approach students will observe Mars imagery and determine whether or not a Mars ocean might have existed in the distant past.

This learning module is meant for adaptation into any course wishing to introduce students to planets outside Earth's solar system. Students will learn about the 'habitable zone' and apply techniques used to find planets outside our solar system.

This learning module and related exercises will expose students the issues of space exploration and the other NASA-partnering agencies and institutions as well as private companies engaged in space-related technology.

The goal of this module is to expose students to the process of planning a space exploration mission. It discusses mission aspects such as mission science goals, mission design and funding, and public outreach.